Lot 21: Benjamin Arlaud (Swiss, circa 1670-after 1731) James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde KG KT (1665–1745), wearing armour, white stock and lace cravat, blue sash of the Order of the Garter, long curled wig

James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde KG KT (1665–1745), wearing armour, white stock and lace cravat, blue sash of the Order of the Garter, long curled wig.
Watercolour on vellum, gilt-mounted rectangular papier-mâché frame, inscribed on the reverse The Duke of Ormonde/ left by Walter Marquis of/ Ormonde to Charles W.
Oval, 68mm (2 11/16in) high
Provenance: By family descent

James Butler, was the son of Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory and Emilia von Nassau, Countess of Ossory. Like his grandfather the 1st Duke, but unlike his extended family, he was raised as a Protestant instead of a Catholic. In 1682 Ormonde married Lady Ann Hyde and in 1685, Lady Mary Somerset, Lady of the Bedchamber, daughter of Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, but neither marriage resulted in a legitimate male heir.

Having succeeded his grandfather as the Duke of Ormonde in 1688, he joined William of Orange, by whom he was made Colonel of a regiment of horse-guards, which he commanded at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. A year later he served on the Continent under William III, and after the accession of Queen Anne he became Commander of the land forces in Spain, where he fought in the Battle of Cádiz and the Battle of Vigo Bay. Having been made a Privy Councillor, Ormonde succeeded Rochester as Viceroy of Ireland in 1703, a post he held until 1707.

Ormonde almost certainly had Jacobite leanings and corresponded with the Jacobite Court including his cousin, Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye, who commanded a Jacobite regiment. After taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715, Butler was impeached for high treason. He left for France in August that year and resided there with Bolingbroke for some time. On the 20th August he was found and with immediate effect, his estate was confiscated and his honours were extinguished.

In June 1716, the Irish Parliament offered a reward of £10,000 for Ormonde's apprehension, should he attempt to land in Ireland but later enabled his brother, Charles Butler, Earl of Arran, to purchase his estate. Ormonde moved to Spain and in 1719, he took part in a Spanish plan to invade England and put Prince James Francis Edward Stuart on the British throne, but his fleet was disbanded by a storm near Galicia. Ormonde died on the 16th November 1745 and was buried in Westminster Abbey despite his treachery.

Walter (1770-1820) and Charles Harward Wandesforde (1780-1860) mentioned in the inscription to the reverse of the frame were sons of John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde (1740-1795) and Lady Frances 'Anne' Wandesforde. For a portrait of their son James Wandesford Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde (1777-1838) see lot 99.